Episodes

  • The Dubious World's Largest Snowflake Record

    The Dubious World's Largest Snowflake Record
    Jan 3 2025
    Snowflakes. These intricate, whimsical crystals are a staple of magical wintry scenes, but how big can they really get? Well, according to the Guinness World Record keepers, the "largest snowflake" ever recorded was a whopping 15 inches in diameter. It was spotted near Missoula, Montana in 1887. But Kenneth Libbrecht, a physicist at Caltech, has long been skeptical of that record. So he set out to find what makes a snowflake a snowflake and whether that 1887 record is scientifically possible. You can read more about what he discovered here. (encore)

    Want to share the snowflakes you've spotted this winter? Email us a photo at shortwave@npr.org.

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    11 mins
  • The Trouble With Zero

    The Trouble With Zero
    Jan 1 2025
    Happy New Year, Short Wavers! What better time to contemplate the conundrum that is zero than this, the reset of the year? Zero is a fairly new concept in human history and even more recent as a number. It wasn't until around the 7th century that zero was being used as a number. That's when it showed up in the records of Indian mathematicians. Since then, zero has, at times, been met with some fear — at one point, the city of Florence, Italy banned the number.

    Today, scientists seek to understand how much humans truly comprehend zero — and why it seems to be different from other numbers. That's how we ended up talking to science writer Yasemin Saplakoglu about the neuroscience of this number that means nothing.

    Read more of Yasemin's reporting on zero for Quanta Magazine. Plus, check out our episode on why big numbers break our brains.

    Thirst for more math episodes? Let us know what kind of stories you want to hear from us in 2025 by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

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    12 mins
  • The Biggest Health Stories of 2024

    The Biggest Health Stories of 2024
    Dec 31 2024
    2024 was full of science news. There was a total solar eclipse, the Paris Olympics, elections in the United States and elsewhere, technological breakthroughs and many space launches. But perhaps above all, it was a huge year in health. So, today, we're talking through some of 2024's biggest health stories — from what's in our drinking water supply, to bird flu, obesity drugs and this year's record heat. They're also the stories we think will continue to be big in 2025. See you in the new year, Short Wavers! <3

    Questions or suggestions for what else we should cover? Email us at shortwave@npr.org!

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    18 mins
  • Bird Backpacks Could Help This Parrot Bounce Back

    Bird Backpacks Could Help This Parrot Bounce Back
    Dec 30 2024
    The thick-billed parrot is the only surviving parrot species native to the United States. These brightly colored birds once roamed across the American Southwest and as far south as Venezuela — but today, the only wild population remaining lives high in the forests of Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains.

    For years, conservation organizations like OVIS (Organización Vida Silvestre) and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance have been working on a multi-faceted conservation project to save these birds. Host Regina G. Barber and producer Rachel Carlson dive into the details of that project — and how tiny "bird backpacks" are helping to make it all happen.

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    14 mins
  • Why These Squirrels Are Eating Meat

    Why These Squirrels Are Eating Meat
    Dec 27 2024
    In pop culture, squirrels are often seen as jerky, excited critters on the hunt for nuts to stuff themselves with and tuck away for later. But squirrels are on the hunt for something a bit meatier in the California Bay Area. Their target: local voles. The entire process — from hunt to kill — was captured on video.

    Want to hear more biology stories? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

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    10 mins
  • Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?

    Will GMOs Bring Back The American Chestnut Tree?
    Dec 25 2024
    In the early 20th century, a blight fungus wiped out most of the 4 billion American chestnut trees on the eastern seaboard. The loss was ecologically devastating. Short Wave host Emily Kwong dives deep into how scientists are trying to resurrect the American chestnut tree — and recent controversy over a plan to plant genetically modified chestnuts in the wild.

    Want to hear about more efforts to recover endangered or lost species? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

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    14 mins
  • Hear Christmas Carols And Talk To Santa On Ham Radio

    Hear Christmas Carols And Talk To Santa On Ham Radio
    Dec 24 2024
    On Christmas Eve, scientists at field stations across Antarctica sing carols to one another...via shortwave. On today's episode, the Short Wave podcast explores shortwave radio. We speak with space physicist and electrical engineer Nathaniel Frissell about this Antarctic Christmas Carol tradition and his use of shortwave radio for community science.

    Read more about Santa Net, which connects children (known in the shortwave radio community as "little harmonics") with Santa.

    Want more tech stories? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

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    10 mins
  • How Does An Airplane Stay In The Air?

    How Does An Airplane Stay In The Air?
    Dec 23 2024
    There are many statistics out there that prove that flying on a commercial airplane is safe, that plane crashes are overall pretty unlikely. Still, up to an estimated 40% of Americans feel some fear at the thought of flying. So, amid the travel rush of the holiday season, we ask MIT aeronautical engineer Mark Drela: How does a plane lift off and stay up in the air?

    Interested in more stories on physics? Email us at shortwave@npr.org. We'd love to hear from you!

    Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at     plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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    15 mins